Nickelback Reminds Darien Crowd How To Have Fun

Some say when it comes to Nickelback you either love em’ or hate em’ and that there is no in between. Well after witnessing perhaps one of the most misunderstood bands in history the jury says it’s ok to just like the band. After all of the accomplishments they have received since the day “How You Remind Me” first hit the airwaves they are truly deserving of each one. I must confess after hearing “How You Remind Me” everywhere I went for two years straight grew old quick. However, the song is now 16 years old and it is actually quite refreshing to hear these days.

The current tour celebrates the release of their latest album Feed The Machine as it landed at the Darien Lake PAC Wednesday evening. It also marks the band’s first trip into town since 2012. The band was supposed to play here in 2015 but vocalist Chad Kroeger had to have vocal surgery and the entire tour had to be canned. Opening the affair were Shaman’s Harvest and Daughtry. Daughtry in particular played a strong set in front of the large crowd.

Kicking off with the title cut “Feed The Machine” the band followed with a plethora of hits such as “Photograph” and an arousing version of “Far Away” that had the crowd singing along from the start. The stage setup was cool as well with a semi-circle of lights surrounding a huge screen that showed various live shots as well as other media at various times throughout each song.

The current line-up has been together since 2005. Joining Kroeger were brother and bassist Michael Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake and drummer Daniel Adair. Chad was very talkative to the crowd all night and at one point said he wanted everyone to sing along as that’s what Amphitheaters were all about as they broke into “If Today Was Your Last Day”.

One of the best moments of Nickelback’s set was “Savin’ Me” as Chris Daughtry came out to sing with the band. Later on, he asked if they could get into some silly shit as they pulled out the unique song title “Something In Your Mouth”.

For the band’s performance of “Rockstar” the band brought onstage three fans from the crowd to participate in the singing. It was a spirited version which made it one of the lightest moments of the evening.

The band brought the house down with “Figured You Out” and the aforementioned “How You Remind Me”.

Nickelback always seems to be the poster boy for all things wrong with rock these days. Recently rock critic Thom Jennings wrote “Other writers have put forth the theory that Nickelback’s style is disingenuous and contrived, therefore it lacks validity, especially in the post-punk and grunge community. A PhD student even studied the reason and makes mention of the narrative that Nickelback lacks authenticity”. Yet the band continues to sell a ton of records and a ton of concert tickets each time they hit the road.

The crowd’s vast array of age ranges showed the band has a wide variety of people to please. Most went home feeling good as that is what a good time rock n roll show is supposed to do. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another five years until the band’s next return visit. While the debate will go on for some, this reviewer knows Nickelback came to chew bubble gum and kick some ass all the while having fun, and they were all out of bubble gum.

Set ListNickelback
Feed the Machine
Woke Up This Morning
Photograph
Far Away
Too Bad
Someday
Lullaby
Where Do I Hide
If Today Was Your Last Day
Because of You
Savin’ Me (With Chris Daughtry)
Song on Fire
Something in Your Mouth
Rockstar
When We Stand Together
Animals
Figured You Out
How You Remind Me

Encore
Gotta Be Somebody
This Afternoon
Burn It to the Ground

Daughtry
Go Down
Feels Like Tonight
Crawling Back to You
Waiting for Superman
Life After You
Nothing Else Matters (Metallica Cover)
Over You
Back Bone
It’s Not Over
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